Saturday, May 31, 2014

An iOS 8 banner has been hung. It seems to a resemblance to iOS 7 with a water theme. The water is probably the default wallpaper included with the OS. All will be revealed at WWDC which starts on June 2nd (this Monday). There will be a live stream provided by Apple on their website.

Friday, May 30, 2014

Apple has created a banner for WWDC that features a large "X" with a background of Yosemite. This seems to imply that OS X 10.10 is code named Yosemite. OS X Yosemite. Maybe it takes a little getting used to… WWDC takes place on June 2nd, 2014.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Well, WWDC is in just five days and a lot of stuff is expected to go down there. However, I figured that its about time for another Tech Talk 4 Geeks Analysis. Basically, Apple has banners on their site and I will try to interpret any hints or clues as to what may be shown off at the event. As you can see, there's not much to look at. There's a bunch of icons with a flat iOS 7 design that surround a large Apple logo. Well, if you notice, the icons seems to shrink into the Apple logo. This suggests one of two things. First, Apple may allow resizing of icons in iOS 8. This makes sense due to the many sizes of the icons. Second, it may suggest widgets. The reason I say this is because of the different sizes. Widgets usually come in different sizes. I know it's a stretch, but at this point, anything goes. If you have any suggestions as to your interpretation, leave your ideas in the comments below! Remember, these are my ideas. No major news source that I know of has reported these ideas. Don't bet on them making the cut for iOS 8.

Monday, May 26, 2014

FaceTime uses data (on cellular networks) and a lot of it (in some cases)! In iOS 7, you can now check how much data you used, along with the duration! After making a FaceTime call, just open the Phone app or FaceTime app. Then tap the "Recents" tab. Select a FaceTime call, and you'll see some specific specs.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

This year, WWDC seems to be one of the best so far by rumors and speculation. Be sure to get some of the latest videos and news from the official app. Be sure to get it. It's free and official! You don't even need a developer account. You can get the WWDC app from the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

Friday, May 23, 2014

Loot Crate is a cool service that sends you a box with geeky swag each month. It's pretty cool. Mostly because you don't know what will be in there. People say that it "keeps you on the edge of your seat." Check out this video for the whole concept.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

AirSquirrels has a new app, Slingshot. It lets you share your iOS device's or computers screen over a conference call. It also lets you take notes during said call. It's a nice setup for people in the corporate business and even education. This is the first AirSquirrels app to have a monthly fee. You can get all of the details in this link to their website.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Today is my birthday, so I wanted to show some of the ways that Google celebrates your birthday. Note that you must input your birthday into Google+. Check out the photos below for a visual as to how Google celebrates your special day.

When signed in, Google will give you your owncustom Google Doodle made entirely out of cake!

In Google Now for iPhone and Android, you will get the sameGoogle Doodle. If you have someone on Google+ in your circles,their face will appear and it will show an option to wish themhappy birthday via a private message on Google+.

Even Google Glass gets in on the action with a timelinecard with- you guessed it- the Google Doodle of cake.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Today, the Surface Pro 3 was announced. It has some new features including a lighter, thinner design. Personally, my favorite feature is the Surface Pen. It has palm rejection and a button on top that instantly opens the OneNote app (which is basically a digital notebook). In addition, this Surface has a 12" display and uses Intel i3, i5, or i7 processors. The Surface Pro 3 also comes in storage sizes of 64, 128, 256, and 512 GB. This Surface will start at $799 and is currently available for pre-order. Different models will be released at different times of this Summer through Fall.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Today is the 40th Anniversary of the Rubik's Cube and Google is making the most of it with a playfully themed Google Doodle and a whole Chrome campaign towards it, the Chrome Cube Lab. This lab lets you code your own cube. I haven't tried it out, but if I get a chance I might post it on the blog or tweet it. By clicking on the cube on Google's home page, you can solve a scrambled cube.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Have you ever wanted to create a ringtone with a sound byte or your favorite song? Now you can! Just open Garageband on your Mac, create a new project (empty project), select "Software Instrument", when prompted, and drag a song or sound into the project. Then go to Share > Ringtone to iTunes > and adjust the length if needed. You can sync this to your iOS device and have it go off with every text or phone call. I hope this helps!

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Beats creators, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, will take on senior roles if this deal of $3.2 billion goes through. Re/code has provided the following statement on the deal.

"Apple’s planned deal to buy Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion may not be finalized until next week, according to people familiar with the transaction. That’s a longer timetable than some people expected as recently as a few days ago."

Friday, May 16, 2014

Google bought the iOS, Android, and Glass app Word Lens. This app lets you take your camera, point it at a foreign language, and have the words change in front of your eyes. Normally, the languages would cost money as in-app purchases, but now they're free. Get them while they're free. You can download the app (be sure to check in-app purchases) by following this direct link.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

In the wake of recent events, I'd like to highlight an app. It's the American Red Cross Wildfires app. It has many useful tools including the "I'm Safe" function. It lets you quickly send out a message to family or the public that you're okay in a disaster. It also has information on how to handle a wildfire. The American Red Cross Wildfires app is available for free from the Apple App Store [Direct Link] and the Google Play Store [Direct Link].

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Flappy Bird will return to the app stores in August. These new apps will be multiplayer and "less addictive." Flappy Bird gained wild success this year, but was removed in February by the creator, Dong Nguyen, because it was too addicting. It hasn't been stated how it will be multiplayer and "less addicting."

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

iOS 8 is expected to have this feature for iPads. It's called Split Screen Multitasking! It seems that it WILL be in iOS 8. I've found a cool concept video by Sam Beckett and it's pretty impressive. Check it out!

Monday, May 12, 2014

The new iPhone is supposed to have a new feature, NFC. NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It allows phones to communicate with each other with a tap and allows people to pay with their phone. It will be interesting as to how Apple will incorporate this with Passbook.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Today, Facebook discontinued Poke and Camera. These are two failed products of Facebook. They haven't been updated since 2013. Poke is a Snapchat competitor, which allowed users to "poke" photos and videos to their friends. Camera allowed users to share multiple photos at once to Facebook. Facebook has offered no explanation for their removal.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Although no new Apple TVs are expected at WWDC this year, it would be nice to see what it would look like. Well, here's a cool rendering I found on the internet (Credit to Curved). It's pretty cool. It features a color scheme similar to the iPhone and iPad lineup. In addition, an iPod Touch like remote could accompany the setup. I hope this is similar to what the new Apple TV will look like.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Try going to any YouTube video and right-click on it. You might just find a button that says "Stats for Nerds". There's stuff like frame rates and stuff. It gives you a lot of stats, but it's nice to see Google have a nice sense of humor towards nerds and geeks alike.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Apple is said to be acquiring the Beats company. This would be very beneficial for Apple as it could bring the popularity of EarPods to the quality of Beats headphones. While Apple's close to acquiring Beats, it's not a done deal. This would be an acquisition of $3.2 billion. For those who don't know, Beats make professional grade headphones and are some of the best that are sold to consumers.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

An interesting new product is Classroom made by Google Apps for Education. This allows your class to be a bit more intuitive with technology. One thing I really like about Google is that they have a universal platform that works with any laptop (whether it's Apple, Microsoft, a Chromebook, or even a Raspberry Pi). This service allows students to digitally turn-in and complete their homework. This product has no release date, but teachers can request an invite by following this link.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Have you ever been annoyed of constantly wrapping your EarPods in the case? Maybe you're just gonna use them for 2 minutes and put them back, but you don't want to have the trouble of wrapping and unwrapping because it takes forever! Well, I came up with a solution! First, uncoil the cable part of the EarPods until it reaches a comfortable distance between your ear and the headphone jack. Then, play your content or media. Finally, hold the EarPods in the case up to your ear. This makes it much quicker to wrap up your EarPods as about half of the cable is still in the case. It should look like the image below.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Starting May 15, you have the ability to text 911 with your phone. While this only works with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, and in certain locations, it could potentially be a life-saver. It is recommended as a last resort when calling is impossible. Also, it should be noted that photos and videos can't be sent to 911.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

If you want to see what you asked Siri the last time you used her, then try this little tip (iOS 7 only)! Simply, hold the home button until the Siri menu comes up, and swipe up once it does. You'll find what you've asked her in your last conversation. Try it out!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

If you wear a watch like me, you might like the clocks as analog clocks in the Clock app in iOS 7. If you like digital clocks, simply tap the clock face to change the design. It's simple! Tap again to switch back! Try it out!

Friday, May 2, 2014

The popular note-taking app, Notability, is free this week as the iTunes App of the Week. Notability lets you draw notes and annotate PDFs. It's very good and popular. I personally love it. Be sure to get it! Notability is available for free until this Thursday [Direct Link].

Thursday, May 1, 2014

We all have digital reputations. Someone posts a photo of you on Facebook without you knowing, or maybe someone with Google Glass takes a five hour video of every person on the streets of San Francisco and you just happened to be in it. Whatever the case is, most of us have something out there one the internet. It's important to know what others see and make sure that you don't have anything that can damage your reputation. Here's a handy tip, go to Google. Log in and click your face in the top-right corner of Google and click "Account". Next, go to "Data Tools" and click "View options", which is next to "Me on the Web". Finally, click "Search now". This shows you what everyone else sees. There are no personalized results. This is your reputation. Along with this tool are some other nice options, including web alerts and your Google+ account. Try it out!